Paradox
by Stoned Snail
Summary: Draco&Herm are transported back to the Marauder's time line, and they discover that Lily and James aren't on friendly terms at all... So Herm decides to play matchmaker, and Draco has to run along...
1. This Is Just The Start

**_A/N:_** Well, people, this is my new story, I sincerely hope that someone will like it, since I try my best to write something good. Review if you like, but this is written to entertain you, not to force you to do something. Oh, and one thing, I don't accept flames. If you have insulting thoughts, please be kind and keep them to yourself. Thank you.

**_Disclaimer:_** Of course, this useless rambling is the actual beginning of book five, focusing not on Harry but on Draco and Hermione, and an actual _relationship_ between the two?! I mean, sure, it'd be cool since this is my favourite ship, but please, people. Be realistic. 

„_Roooon_!" Hermione Granger wailed, yanking her plate away from her best friend, Ron Weasley.  

"Stop eating my things! Honestly, I can't understand how you can stay so thin! All you do is eat!"

"But come on, 'Mione, you wouldn't have eaten it anymore anyway. _Please_?" 

"No. Go bother Lavender or something, she's probably on diet again anyway."

Ron sent his new girlfriend a baleful glare.

"Yeah she is, but she's trying to starve _me_, too!"

"Meaning I won't give him any more food than he's supposed to eat!" Came the derisive reply from across the table, from where Lavender Brown eyed her boyfriend with a shake of her head. 

With a final, defeated sigh, Hermione sat her plate down in front of Ron. "**_Fine_**."

"YAY! Thanks, 'Mione!" And the red head disappeared in the jungle of spaghetti carbonara. Hermione sighed again and gave Harry Potter, centre of the dream team and her other best friend, a warning glare. 

"Don't grin like that, I'm in a foul mood from now on."

"Alright, alright, 'Mione."

But the hidden grin did not go unnoticed by either Hermione or Ginny Weasley, sister to Ron and Harry's biggest fan, which resulted in Harry groaning at the elbow in his ribs and sending both an apologetic smile. 

"Sorry, baby."

And with a peck on the cheek, Ginny was all fanatic Jell-O again, eyeing Harry as if he was the golden calf. Hermione rolled her eyes. She knew why she didn't want to fall in love. It made you do terribly humiliating and embarrassing things. But somehow, sometime... it would be nice to have someone look at you as if you were the world to him...

Her train of thought was interrupted by Ron emitting a displeased grunt at another empty plate before him. He needed more, obviously. She turned and asked Harry quietly:

"Honestly, how can he be so gleeful about having one plate of food and then look like he expected the world's end just because it's _empty_?" 

"That's because he doesn't get enough at home, they can't afford it."

Without bothering to look up, Hermione rolled her eyes again and answered in the same annoying, taunting, almost _sneering_ voice, trying to make the dismissal clear:

"Oh, how very funny, Malfoy. Now go and entertain your gorillas, they might even laugh. I heard there's people who like your sorry attempt of humor."

"Like there's absolutely no people who like your sorry excuse for hair, Granger? You should get a bird or something, it could nest in it."

"Wow, getting better I see. How original. Now try to say a word with four syllables and I'll give you a cookie." 

"Ridiculous bitch. Oh, wait, that was two. Oh, my, sorry!"

Ron jumped up, grabbing the other boy by the collar.

"Get lost, you scum, or I swear I'll scalp you and... and..." 

Due to his rage, Ron was obviously at a loss of words. Malfoy smirked and raised his silvery blond eyebrow.

"What a threat, Weasley. So very inventive and as rich in doom as you are in Galleons."

With that, he turned and motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to follow. 

"Have a nice day, idiots." 

It took several minutes until Lavender had Ron calmed enough to stop clenching and unclenching his fists at a three seconds rhythm. Hermione touched his arm and gave him a shake of her head. 

"Don't get yourself worked up, Ron. He's not worth it. He's not worth your or my or anyone's rage or any other emotion for that matter." 

She looked up to the brightly blue heaven ceiling, thinking back to the many times when he had managed to get her enraged, despite how much she knew his unworthiness of it. The slap in third year had been the top of it all, and since then she miraculously managed to just stay cool, whatever he threw at her. he only caused her uneasiness and sucked up more of her energy than he was ever worth. Simply shrugging him off was so much better, and it seemed to displease him so much more than a heated reply that she was even more assured of her behaviour around him. 

When she came back from dreamland, she noticed that the hall had gone quiet. Dumbledore stood and prepared for an announcement and everyone besides _her_ was listening. Scandalous!

She set her ears quickly on whatever the old bearded man was going to say.  

"Students, you are dismissed. But may I please have Miss Granger and Mister Malfoy come up here?"

Hermione gave a surprised gasp and shared one confused look with Ron and Harry before heading up to the teacher's table. From periphery, she noticed Malfoy doing the same. Despite sharing a confused glance with anyone, since nobody at his house table seemed to have enough brain cells to modificate their expressions from the gloomy masks that were so familiar and usual for them. 

She stopped her firm strode and stood in front of her teachers, McGonnagall who was giving her an approving glance and sending of the complete opposite at Malfoy, Snape, doing it the other way around, and the others, varying from pure boredom up to concerned smiles. And Dumbledore, the mischievous smile so evident in his eyes that Hermione fought the urge to shudder. That man was planning something. 

Malfoy, in his oh-so-polite Slytherin manners, turned a bored, but pretty much blank face to the old Headmaster:

"You wanted to speak to me?"

"Oh, yes, my dear children, I have an important task to accomplish for the both of you. Since you are the topmost students of your year," At this Hermione threw Malfoy a surprised glance which he answered with a self-assured smirk, "I want you to meet up tonight and go up to Astronomy Tower to study the constellation of Uranus and Mercury which are in an unusual position, and take notes on your observations. Please report to this table after your breakfast tomorrow and turn in an essay of at least six pages, and may I add, an essay you wrote _together_. Your grades and your probable position as Head Girl and Head Boy depend on it. You are to meet alone at eleven p.m. and neither of you is allowed, whatever circumstances occur, to leave the Tower before three a.m. Am I clear? Good then, you are dismissed."

He fixed both adolescents with an extremely amused and almost roguish smile, then sat back down. Hermione and Draco fixed each other with a confused frown before Malfoy remembered just what he was looking at. He gave her a sneer, turned away from the teachers with a nod and began to stalk away, his robes swishing behind him Slytherin style. 

"Very well then." Hermione switched her gaze from his retreating back to the people in front of her, gave a departure smile and made her way down the hall.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"'MIONE! What did they want?"

Her two best friends and their respective counterparts gathered around the girl, frowning deep in thought.

"Uh... Dumbledore wants me and Malfoy to go up to Astronomy Tower tonight to observe some weird constellation..." 

"_What_?! And for that you actually had to come up to Dumbledore? Why didn't McGonnagall tell you?"

The girl looked up to her black haired friend, still wearing a thoughtful frown:

"That's my problem, Harry. I simply don't know what this is to mean, and I did _not_ like the way Dumbledore announced it." 

Ron sent her an encouraging smile, exclaiming: 

"Oh, come on, 'Mione, it's not that bad! I mean, we can come with you, can't we?" 

She turned her head to the redhead, shaking it:

"No, Ron. I'll spend my night alone at Astronomy Tower with Malfoy, it seems."

"PLEASE _WHAT_?! You can't! He's gonna rape you or something! I knew Dumbledore was simply insane!" 

Hermione rolled her eyes resignedly. She had predicted this reaction, from both of them. Harry looked more worried than enraged though.

"Yes, Harry, I know what you are going to say, and no, I will not go to Dumbledore and ask if he can cancel it, no, I don't want you to follow me with the Invisibility Cloak, and yes, I am perfectly able to defend myself against that lunatic. Besides, Ron, he wouldn't simply for the fact that I'm an oh-so-very-dirty-and-filthy Mudblood, remember? So don't worry, I'll be fine. If I'm not back at three thirty, you may come check on me, but if I see one black or red hair-yes, even from you, Ginny- then you will all be doing your Potions Homework without me until the end of our school time, all right?"

The four nodded with dreading looks on their faces. Hermione was their last anchor of rescue when it came to Potions, since they all pretty much failed to understand any of Prof. Snape's endless rambling. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Quarter to eleven on the huge grandfather clock in the common room found Hermione striding towards the door, wrapped into her thick cloak from back home in the muggle world, charmed to keep her warm, a quill and several rolls of parchment tucked under her arm and her hair pulled up into a messy bun like she did at home. 

The night was chilly, but the stars were sparkling clear. The lake glistened a little distance away while she walked and enjoyed the silence. 

Moments like these she found simply beautiful. 

Despite what everyone else did, Hermione had never feared the darkness. She fairly liked it. Everything seemed nice and beautiful, no arguing or crying could be heard through the silence, and everything around her was touched in a simply pacifying blue, shortening the difference between something good and something evil. Why, Hermione even thought that in darkness, there were no such things as good and evil, it was simply the after pains of the prejudices of hard and unjust daylight. 

But of course, that was only the still and lonely darkness. There was also the darkness occupied by Deatheaters, cold and cruel, filled with agonizing cries of dying innocents and the evil cackling of an insane mind. 

The girl shook her head firmly, trying to chase those thoughts away. Despite the fact that she was walking straight into the arms of one that was very probable to participate in that kind of darkness soon. 

Oh, come on, 'Mione, just because he's an asshole doesn't mean he's a murderer. Besides, you can't avoid him tonight. 

She entered the Tower, climbing up the countless stairs until she arrived, pretty much breathless, on the platform on top. 

Of course, he was late. She frowned.

"No, little Miss-Perfect-Granger, big bad wolf Malfoy is not late. He's right here." 

She gasped and whirled around, watching a tall figure step out from behind her. 

"How did you-"

He gave a derisive snort.

"Oh, please. Your face is so easy to read, and besides, what else could you have been thinking about, Philistine? Oh, Malfoy's not on time, call Dumbledore and get him expelled, the ruthless bastard!"

She shot him a nasty look.

"Look, we have to tolerate each other for a little while, so cut out your insults for the time being and we'll be fine, all right? Besides, someone recently told me that my punch was good enough to rival a guy's, so please don't make me continue our little issue from third year."

"Oh my god, Granger's threatening me! Someone help!" 

His high-pitched voice à la Pansy Parkinson turned back into the male baritone his voice had gone into after his preteen years:

"But anyways, let's say that until three a.m., we have a deal. You don't act like your prissy, bossy little self and I stop insulting you."

"Fine. Now, do you even know what Dumbledore was talking about back there?"

"Like I ever listened to an old man's delirious rambling."

"Stop insulting other people, too."

He gave a melodramatic sigh.

"Fine."

"But back to topic. So you have really no idea what we're supposed to do?"

"Nope."

"Oh. Damn."

"What?"

"Well, me neither."

"What?! Granger doesn't know what she's supposed to do even though her grade depends on it? Someone call the Daily Prophet!"

"Oh, shut up, you! I heard something about Uranus and Mercury and their constellation towards each other, but I see nothing out of the ordinary."

"That's because you can't see them since you don't have any telescope."

She gave him a smug grin.

"Maybe that's the case for you poor spoiled pureblood, but since I was proud member of the girl scouts, I can locate them anyway." 

His face scrunched up in confusion. 

"What the hell is a girl scout?" 

"Forget it. Look, up there, in that star system- see it? Good.- the bright one, that's Uranus. Now on to Mercury. It's a lot farther away, so its light is pretty weak. Look, there. You can see something faintly blinking, don't you?"

"No, I seem to be absolutely unable to since your ability to give a way description equals you ability to fly."

"Alright, I give up, you're unbearable!"

She stalked over to the stairs, determined to just let him stand there and ramble to himself if he wanted to.

"Tut-tut, Miss Granger. Have you forgotten that this assignment will only be correctly done if both of us stay here until after three o'clock? You disappoint and shock me. Two improper things in one night!" 

She sent him a hateful glare, but turned and stalked back over to him.

"Can you just shut your mouth for four hours? Silence for two-hundred-and-forty minutes, Gods, that's all I'm asking for!" 

"If you could manage to get your ugly face out of my line of vision, I might!"

"Oh, I'm fed up with your shit! Stare at something else if you can't stand it, or jump off the fucking tower for all I care!"

"Don't you dare talk that way to me, Mudblood! You're beneath me, barely more than a House Elf, and I will not have you talking back to me like that!"

"So, what are you gonna do, Big Bad Draco? Call Daddy?"

"You don't know a shit about my father nor me, so shut your fucking mouth!"

"Fuck off, you idiot! I have enough of you and your stupid prejudices!" 

They stood mere inches from another without even realising it. The one thing both probably had farthest from their minds was a romantic encounter of any sorts with the ones before them. So when Hermione raised her hands to shove him, neither expected anything extraordinaire to happen. 

But as soon as her fingers made contact, a blinding white shot up, causing both to wince and try to shield their eyes. But it was useless, the light seemed to creep through the girl's body, hot and painful. Her head pounded as Hermione felt her legs give way, ands she fell into Draco. Who seemed in no less trouble than she was. Finally, with a simultaneous, pained cry, the two fell, still clutching to each other to have at least something to hold onto while the pain pulled them away into deep unconsciousness. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Draco woke up, emitting a small groan at his inexplicably sore muscles. Oh, and his heavy chest. Really heavy. Was he dead, maybe? What a bliss that would be.

But, the heavy feeling on his chest began to stir which told him that it had to be something alive. Opening his eyes with the hope against hope that he did not lie straight in the sun's direction, but the blinding sting in his eyes told him that he had been wrong. 

Finally, as the thing on his chest pushed up, his face fell into shadow and his grey eyes snapped open. 

He was staring straight into the gold brown orbs of Hermione Granger, straddling his lap and supporting her arms on his chest. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Owww. Pain, pain, pain.

Hermione groaned, feeling like she'd been absolutely wasted and just recovering. 

Oh wait. Hermione Granger had never in her whole sixteen years of life been even in the least bit wasted and did not plan to. 

So what was this, this weird kind of headache, this hard, but somehow soft thing underneath her and feeling of complete amnesia of whatever had occurred before?

She felt the sun on her back, which confused her since she indistinctly remembered that it had been night when she'd been awake. But it also assured her that she could open her eyes without actually blinding them. Her hands searched for support on the weird underground and she pushed up, opening her eyes and-

Staring down at the weird underground called Draco Malfoy.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

For a moment, they just sat and stared at each other, dumbfounded, unable to snap out of this awkward trance. 

Then, both blinked like only just now really awakening, and tried to get off each other as fast as possible. 

Hermione made a face of disgust:

"Oh my god, I actually lay on you! On top of you! Draco Malfoy! Ugh, I think I'm gonna be sick!" 

She wiped her robes as if trying to get him off. 

"You're one to talk, I at least have clean blood!"

"Yeah, maybe, but the nastiest mind I have ever had the chance to get a glimpse of!" 

"Wait, are you implying that I had thoughts involving any kind of sexual interaction between the two of us?! Oh, now I'm gonna be sick!" 

"Oh, shut up, we have other things to worry about. Like, for instance, where are we? This is not the Astronomy tower."

"How do you know?"

"Look beneath you, this is grass, Sherlock!" 

He threw a glance down, but managed miraculously not to show any sign of embarrassment. 

"Ah yes."

She sent him a glare.

"So, any conclusions?"

"Well, obviously, we're in the open."

He surveyed their surroundings quickly, then turned his head back to her, face blank and not sneering for once.

"And I'd say we're still at Hogwarts, because of the lake and castle and such. But something feels... out of place." 

"Like the fact that we miraculously made it a hundred meters to the ground and almost five hundred meters away from the tower without even being conscious?" 

"Yeah, that's one. But there's still something else. My sixth sense kinda goes off." 

Despite the fact that he was unarguably right, Hermione couldn't help but taunt him, trying to repay all these years of being called names.

"Ohhh, your sixth sense! How could I have overlooked that? It is most important to the success of our mission and our survival, is it not?" 

She raised a mocking eyebrow, finally managing to get him to scowl.

"Yes, damn Mudblood, to my survival it is! It's managed countless times to warn me before my father stormed-"

Shit. He had stopped himself just in time before he could reveal anything of the thousands of beatings he had received in his short life, but knowing the Mudblood, she figured it out and was now starting to pity her mortal enemy. He shook his head inwardly. 

Beati pauperes spiritu. Blessed are the poor of mind. 

"What?!"

Her snap brought him back to present, realizing that she eyed him in an annoyed fashion. Something different from the usual hatred. 

"Nothing."

"You shook your head at me like you were a psychiatrist and I was insane!"

"What's a psychiatrist?"

"Oh, forget it, moron."

"Don't dare call me names!"

"Oh, Big Bad Draco has the only privilege of calling someone names? Come on, I wanna have some fun, too!" 

Her cheerful voice was dripping of sarcasm, and it was ticking Draco off.

"Shut your mug, woman."

"Don't call me woman."

"Why? Three a.m. is obviously long gone."

"Ah, which brings me back to a more urgent problem than your ignorance. Where the fuck are we?!" 

"Oh Heavens, Granger used a swear word! Daily Prophet, here! Over here! Oh, Skeeter, where art thou?"

"Oh, sod off, git!" 

He sneered, then lifted himself off the grass. Without offering her his hand, she pointedly noticed. Then, an exaggerated voice at the back of her mind yelled: 

'For heaven's sake, Hermione, it's Draco Malfoy! What did you expect?!' 

She nodded and stood up, hurrying away to catch up to his fast stride. Good point. But still...

Well, at least he knew Shakespeare.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Alright. My little wristwatch here says it's one o'clock. We really are at Hogwarts. No one has noticed or missed us yet, which, in my case, is weird because usually Ron and Harry are over-protective."

"They were probably busy screwing their girls or something."

"Oh, shut-"

"You're repeating yourself, Granger."

"Yup, because this is the only not insulting thing I can think of to say to you at rhythmic intervals."

"Oh, shut up, woman."

She threw him an irritated glare. 

"Come on, let's get inside."

"Why?"

"Uh, wait, let me think a moment... because this is our school and we should actually be participating in the lessons held in there?" 

She said this pig-dog-manner (as in extremely slow and stressed), trying to irritate him as well. 

It worked.

He sent her a hateful glare, hissing lowly:

"Have you ever thought about the possibility of this being a trap or something? That we can't just stalk in there and plop down in our usual seats and begin chatting with our friends?!"

"Uh... no." She cast her head down, hoping he wouldn't catch the pinkish notion on her cheeks.

But where are the gods when you need them? Probably enjoying an aroma bath or something, the girl thought sarcastically as she heard the young man in front of her exclaim:

"Oh, will someone look here? Perfect Granger is blushing school-girl-style! How cute!" 

"Oh, FUCK OFF, you idiot!"

"Tsktsk, no swearing please, Miss-Future-Head-Girl, it may appear on your record!" 

She shoved him in the chest, luckily without the after effects of last night, but of course, Mr. I'm-A-Quidditch-Player-And-Whenever-Someone-Pokes-Me-In-The-Chest-I-Don't-Even-Budge did not receive any kind of balance damage or even a nice fall smack on his damn ass. He just stood there with this annoying, infuriating, Tempting-You-To-Punch-It-Off, sexy Malfoy smirk. 

Ohhhh, WAIT... What have I just thought? SEXY? Oh my god, I'm going insane!

Draco threw Hermione a confused glance as the girl grabbed her hair as if she wanted to pull it off. Pretty hard task with this bush. They were hard to uproot after what he'd heard. 

For a second, her expression reminded him of that she'd worn after she noticed that she had been laying on him. Pure disgust... and he knew that this was just the natural reaction after waking up on your mortal enemy's chest, that it should have been his reaction, too... 

But hadn't felt so bad having someone so close to you, even if it was Granger. 

He shook his head in an attempt to get it clear and turned to the girl beside him, still fiercely pulling at her hair.

"Come on, we're gonna sneak in and look around for a bit."

She looked up, as if surprised he was even there, then nodded to his already retreating form and followed him. Then she stopped, realizing that this wasn't the way to where the main entrance lay. 

"Wait, where are we going, Draco?"

He sighed melodramatically.

"Haven't I said we're gonna sneak in? Do you think sneaking means prancing into the Great Hall, shouting: 'Hey all, my name is Hermione Granger and I have no clue where I am, could you help me please?' Surely not, ma'am, and that's why I enjoy being a Slytherin. They're always sneaky. Now follow me, we're going to a small tunnel that leads down into the dungeons. I discovered it some years ago. Oh, and stop calling me Draco." 

He stalked off again like he always did.

She hesitated for just a moment, but caught up and fell in step beside him. He couldn't trap her, because then he'd be trapped, too. 

Which, unfortunately, would not be that much of a problem for him in the Slytherin dungeons. She didn't trust this, she didn't trust him. 

But she followed him anyway. She was good ol' curious Hermione after all.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They had not found anything out of the ordinary down there, but didn't have much time because dinner would soon end and the urge to get caught in the most unfriendly of Hogwarts' houses when they had no clue what was going on was considerably small. 

"So, Granger, what are we gonna do for tonight? We don't have anywhere to stay."

"Oh, yes, we do."

"Huh?"

"You would never believe how sneaky Harry and Ron can be. Come on, King Slytherin, I'm gonna show you something."

She gave him a smug grin and led him up to Gryffindor Tower. There he stopped, crossing his arms over his chest in a defensive fashion.

"There is no fucking way you can get me to go in there." 

"Oh, really?"

Her expression changed into the most innocent of smiles, immediately making Draco suspicious.

"What if I told you that in there is a big, snug, warm bed in front of an ever-blazing fireplace, completely unbeknownst to all other Gryffindor souls besides Harry, Ron and me who use it only occasionally? And, oh, did I mention it has two sides?"

"That's blackmailing, woman!"

"Why, Draco, I never said you had to join me! You can very well sleep on the cold grass out here, not my problem!"

"Oh, shut-"

Her voice went deep and as masculine as possible as she interrupted mockingly:

"You're repeating yourself, Malfoy."

Which was answered with the most lethal glare she'd ever seen from him, but it only added to her urge to giggle.

She entered the tower and looked around, waiting for someone to come and notice them, but finally they seemed to have some luck. Nobody seemed to be out in the hallways. She motioned for Draco to follow her and slid along the wall, almost giggling again when she imagined herself and Draco with hot pants and guns, Charlie's-Angels-style. 

They rounded corners, entered new, darker corridors, and finally, Hermione turned around, with a proud glow on her face:

"And this, Ladies and All The Invisible Gentlemen, is Gryffindor Tower's biggest treasure besides Harry Potter: The Secret Common Room."

Draco gave her a derisive snort, followed by his trademark smirk:

"You sound like you're gonna show me your secret favourite child or something. Oh, and a big golden star for imaginary." 

Her face curled up into an equally derisive mask. 

"Bed or hallway, make your choice, Draco."

"Okay, bed. And stop calling me Draco."

"You stop telling me to stop something I decided to do, I stop telling you Draco."

"Whatever."

Hermione whispered the password so he couldn't hear, at which he rolled his eyes. 

"Get on with it, woman!"

"Hold your tongue, man!"

"You know how miserably you fail to imitate my tones?"

"Yup, but I never fail to irritate you, honey." 

"Okay, call me Draco whenever you want, but no nicknames making me sound nice, alright?"

"I knew you'd cave in eventually, Draco." 

"No, I'm not gonna tell you to shut up this time, I'll count to ten and then wring your neck."

But before he had any chance to, he discovered that Hermione had already disappeared in the room behind the open door, so he followed suit and entered. 

It was big and all in Gryffindor colors, which was getting to his eyes, but yes, it was warm and cozy, that was all he needed. After all, he could close his eyes. But he needed warmth for once.

Then he stopped in his tracks. Wait. When did a Malfoy ever need warmth? It was absurd to even think about it. He realized that he had never really had warmth, and figured that it would be best not to start now, because he knew he would never get it again. His life was written down in his father's mind, all components needed to make him what he wanted him to be carefully listed.

And warmth was not on that list.

But still, he would be Gryffindor-ly stupid if he turned around now and sneaked out of this warm place into the cold open again. So he opened his tie, pulled his robes off and bent down to take off socks and shoes and straightened again. Without thought and thus without hesitation, he also shrugged off his shirt and then lifted the covers off the huge bed, lying down beside the sheets mountain beside him that was Hermione. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**A/N: **Alright, so whaddya think? Nice? Not so nice? Tell me, I'll try to update soon. 


	2. Please WHAT!

**_Disclaimer:_** Nope, not mine, folks. Although I wouldn't mind at all owning some... _aspects_ of J.K.'s work. Hehe.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

_No. Please. No sun. Wanna sleep. Just snore on for a few more moments. Pleeeeeaaaase!_

But seemingly, Ra had no mercy, burning down and heating up the sheets until Hermione felt like she was having a fun time in a stove pipe. 

She sighed and turned around, trying to avoid the cruel sunrays. 

And found her self face-to-chest with a solid, very much male body. Oh _shit_. 

What had she done now? Retreating to the far off side of her part of the bed, she looked up. But only to herself paralysed in another one of those shock-of-your-life moments. This was none other than Draco Malfoy, lying in bed beside her and sleeping. White like a ghost, the girl jumped up and let her gaze wander frantically to find at least one clue as to where she was. 

Moments later, she realised that whatever would happen, Draco Malfoy would _not_ have his room decorated in Gryffindor colours, and almost blushed for panicking so quickly.

Still, she had no intention whatsoever to get caught in the same bed with him,  mostly because she was sure he'd kill her straight away. 

But still, now she had the perfect opportunity to get him back for all these years of taunting and humiliating her. The thought made her smirk in a manner close to his, betraying the slightly evil thoughts swirling through her mind. 

She went over to the chair over which she had carefully draped her robes over, checked them for any crinkles and pulled them on again. Picking up her wand, she quietly summoned a pot of water, lifted it from the table and walked over to Malfoy's bedside. Still smirking, she announced in a high, sugar sweet voice:

"Wake-up call, sweetie!"

Draco Malfoy had been woken up roughly a lot in his life. But his father had always opted for the Crucatius Course. Being startled awake by a splash of ice cold water was something new, but definitely not any more pleasant. 

"What the fuck-"

A giggle caught his ear and his head snapped up. Granger. That damn bitch! Oh, wait. _Granger_?! Where'd she come from? And more importantly, how dare she wake him up? With cold water no less?!

He leaped from the bed and advanced at the girl whose giggling lessened considerably. He hid his smirk, satisfied at her obvious fright.

"Hello, Mudblood. Care to explain why you considered it essential to wake me up? In such a ...cold manner, no less?"

She backed up as he came closer, eyes wide. She was scared. It was wonderful watching people that were scared of you. It gave the young man a feeling of power, and power was the one thing that was considered important in his world. 

"I'm waiting, bitch."

"Don't-"

"Don't call you that? You're hardly in the position to give me orders, Granger. Now, tell me why you did it."

Her back collided with the wall and with his arms enclosing her shoulders, she was cut off any means of escape. She swallowed and looked up at him, hatred shining in her bright brown orbs and outplaying her fear.

"I did it because I hate you, and because you deserved it, and because I wanted to get you back for how much you made us suffer!"

"Unfortunately, 'us' is not existent at the moment. Sadly, your two morons are completely absent. Which means I could rape you right at this moment and nobody would help you."

She scoffed and gave an angry growl.

"You wouldn't. I'm filthy and dirty and ugly and, oh, what else was it? You wouldn't touch a mudblood if your life depended on it, asshole."

"And we would know because?"

His face inched closer as he slowly leaned in, enjoying the looks of intense anger and fright fighting to take over her expression. He smirked, straightening up and pushing her away.

"Don't worry, Granger. You're right, I wouldn't touch you for the life of me, for a variety of reasons that are too exhausting to name right now."

"Oh, fuck off."

"Oh, getting violent, eh?"

He raised one pale silver eyebrow, causing hers to knit together in anger and annoyance. But she saved her breath, knowing that he was not worth any trouble. 

Instead, she turned for the door, opening it and carefully peeking out. 

"What the hell are you doing?!"

She looked back over her shoulder and said with a derisively raised eyebrow:

"Grilling frogs. What does it look like, git?"

"I suggest you hold your tongue while you're at my mercy, Mudblood!"

"And I suggest you hold yours, too, because at this moment, you are very much on mine."

"And that would be because?"

She smiled smugly while throwing another glance backwards.

"We're at Gryffindor Tower, my dear. And I don't think a guy looking _and_ acting as if he was very much member of the Dark Lord's inner circle, in Slytherin robes no less, would be certainly welcome."

He sneered at her.

"And you think I can't take these idiots?"

"That's precisely what I'm saying, ferret boy."

"Don't you dare-"

"Shut up, there's someone in the corridors!" 

She closed the door with a small clicking sound and whispered a locking spell before she turned around to him, shooting him a venomous look.

"Listen, I intend to stay hidden until I solve this mystery, and I expect you to go along. No, don't interrupt me! We are at a place neither of us knows a thing of, so it would surely do no good for you to run out in the open. We have to do this together for a while, so I suggest you decrease your insults to a minimum, and we will be able to get along. Are we clear?"

"Granger, you expect me to stop insulting you? I'd have to stop _addressing_ you at all!" 

"So stop."

"Whatever."

"I'll go to Dumbledore."

"How do you know he's not evil?"

"How do you know he is?"

"I don't."

"So let's find out."

He didn't answer her, but grabbed his robes and pulled them on.

She nodded and reopened the door, looking out and signalising him that everything was calm and quiet. He came up next to her and the two left their shelter, set out to find where they were and whatever it was that had brought them here.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"How may I help you, my children?"

The wise old Albus Dumbledore switched his wake gaze between the petite brunette and the tall blond standing before him, other students springing to his mind that looked _exactly_ like them.  

They had basically stormed his office, eager to flee the eyes of anyone that could be watching and now he was interested, to say the least. 

"Sir, I will tell you a story, and this is as much the truth as I know it. Please do not interrupt or question me until I finished. Is that alright with you?"

The girl seemed anxious, nervous. Evil was never nervous, so she was out of the question. The air of the young man beside her was quite mystifying, he did not seem to be on either of sides, so Dumbledore decided it was worth the risk just to see what this girl was playing at. 

"Shoot, my child. I will listen and reply in all my might."

"Good. So, one thing first. I am Hermione Granger and this is Draco Malfoy."

She pronounced the words clearly and loudly, but it did not seem to help the slight frown on the headmaster's forehead. 

"Are you from Lucius' family?"

The two intruders shared a confused look.

"Yes, sir, he's his son. But back to topic. We..."

Hermione did not notice the ever so slight widening of the old man's eyes since she was searching for the right words and Draco, who did, kept it to himself, quietly observing the bearded wizard's reactions. 

"Well, obviously you don't know us, so I'll just tell this from where I think it began up to now, alright?"

"Do go on, my dear."

"Well, sir, yourself- from a different universe or whatever and no, please do _not_ interrupt me- sent me and Malfoy up to Astronomy Tower to observe some kind of star constellation. We accidentally touched and somehow both lost consciousness at once. When we woke up we were here, over there by the lake, but we knew we were not in our own, uh, home dimension because we weren't on the tower anymore. We spent the night in one of Gryffindor Tower's secret rooms, and then we went straight to you. Frankly, sir, we have no clue where we are, but we'd like to return to our- timeline, universe, whatever."

"So I assume that you both are Hogwarts students, are you not?"

"Yes sir, I'm in Gryffindor and he's in Slytherin, we both are of the class of 2004." 

Again, only Draco noted the old headmaster's barely noticeable surprise and saw no urge to make Hermione notice. He just continued to watch the girl and the headmaster before him, face blank and a mask of obvious disinterest. 

Hermione, having finished her report and waiting for questions from the old man, let her gaze sway to the window. Outside, the lake and grass were crowded with laughing, happy students, joking around and just enjoying themselves on this warm Sunday. 

"Hey, Malfoy, look! That's Ginny and Harry!"

She turned her head and met his gaze, silently stating that he did not give as much as a shit to come see Harry and Ginny. 

"But really, it's them! If they exist here, why wouldn't we?"

He sent her another menacing glare, but sauntered over to her side.

"I don't see them."

"Look, over there, next to that silver-haired- Oh my _god_, that's you!"  

Draco followed her finger to where she was pointing at with a bewildered expression.

Oh, yeah, there was that idiot Potter and the little Weasley, but... Then a silver glow caught his gaze, finally letting him know what had petrified the girl next to him.

What the hell...? That guy really looked like him, and he acted just like him, too. What could this mean? He racked his brain for a sensible answer, frowning in confusion. He hated to be confused. It robbed you of the control of the situation. 

And suddenly, a little alarm went off in his head, signalling that his brain had found the answer, and he scolded himself for not seeing it sooner. It was the only way this was possible, since there did not seem to be any Granger or Ron Weasley.

He turned to Hermione with a serious, somewhat foreboding expression.

"That's not me, Granger."

"But-"

He held up his hand to silence her.

"Shut up, will you? That," and he pointed outside to his clone, "is my father, Lucius, with an exact of seventeen years."

"_What?!"_

"That is correct, young Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore seemed to process the information relatively well, looking a bit perplexed, but composed. 

In contrary to Granger, who was gaping at him like he had just announced that he has immortally in love with McGonnagall.  

"But... but who's that, then?"

She pointed outside to the couple she had mistakenly identified as Ginny and Harry, and now she realized that it could not be correct. They were doing something she had never seen her two friends do: They were fighting, yelling at each other like no tomorrow. 

Dumbledore approached her, following the direction of her gaze.

"That's Lily Evans and James Potter. They are both Gryffindor students, Lily being one of the brightest, and James being one of the most impish."

"That is James Potter?! Oh my god!"

"Do you know him?"

She turned her melancholic, wistful gaze to the old man, nodding and smiling sadly.

"Oh, yes, I do. And yet, I do not. You see, James and Lily are the parents of the world's future saviour, and my best friend by the way."

"Oh."

"Yes. He never knew them..."

She felt her eyes start to burn, and damned herself for it.

"What he would give to be in my place now..."

"Stop whining, Granger!" 

She whipped around and glared at him, leaning lazily against the wall.

"You shut up! How would you react if you never knew your parents, never got to play with your father, never got to be hugged by your mother?"

As if I ever had. My parents are loveless assholes, both of them, and if it did not involve my own non-existence, I would gladly see them dead in this time.

"And? You won't change it, Granger, it's their destiny. Imagine they hadn't died. Voldemort would reign the whole world, both Muggles and wizards, and I can't imagine that this would cause either Potter or you tremendous pleasure."

"Don't you want him to reign?"

"No. He's as much a filthy Mudblood as you are, and I'm not going to be ordered around by someone who's inferior to me."

"Oh, come on, stop lying. I bet you already have the mark!"

"Don't assume things about me, Granger. It could end badly for you."

She rolled her eyes and turned to Dumbledore again. 

Sir, do you have any idea as to how we came here?"

"Unfortunately, no. I have never heard of any time travels without a Time Turner which you obviously do not own. I also do not know how I could help you, I'm afraid."

Hermione nodded and sat down on one of the chairs. 

"What are you doing, Granger? Don't you think we should go?"

"I'm thinking. And no, I don't believe so." 

She brought her hands up, one arm supporting her head while her right thumb stroked her nose lazily, a habit of hers when thinking.

"Maybe we have a purpose here."  

"What?"

She didn't respond, seemingly talking to herself. 

"We were brought here because we have a task to accomplish. Something to fix, or to take care of, so that the future will take its correct course."

Her mumbling continued on for a few minutes, but she didn't seem to find a satisfying answer. Draco was getting impatient and thus irritated. 

"Come on, Granger, let's go. I'm tired."

She looked up as if startled awake, then glared and switched her gaze to Albus.

"Sir, how far are we into this term?"

"This is the twenty-sixth of September, Miss Granger."

"Hmm. Would it be possible to have any exchange students come here at this time of year?"

"Well, technically, of course. But where would you pretend to be from?"

"Durmstrang. No, that's not good. Sir, do you know any school you have never had any transfer or exchange students from?"

"Well... the only one I can remember is Ephesos Academy. It's in Australia, an old friend of mine is headmaster there. We planned an exchange a couple of times, but our ideas could never be implemented."

"Perfect! We could pretend to be from Australia, and that we have a weird schedule down under and thus are late, and just wait until we now more."

"Well, then, which House would you like to be put in?"

"Gryffindor."

Draco snorted derisively.

"Please, you can't expect me to spend even one week with that bunch of losers."

"That bunch of losers is the only option we have."

"I'm a Slytherin, so why would I prefer Gryffindor?"

"Because you can't simply expect Lucius to be unsuspecting when you look and act like an exact replica of him? Which you are by the way."

"Shut up."

"So, we have chosen Gryffindor, then? Great. But you will need new robes, young Mr. Malfoy."

"There is no fucking way I'm going to wear gold and scarlet. That's ridiculous."

"Stop whining, Malfoy."

Narrowing his eyes dangerously, he spat in a venomous tone:

"Stop imitating me, Mudblood."

"Please, do try to be civil to each other."

"I'm sorry, Professor."

Malfoy obviously saw no need to apologize, never changing his position, his back still supported by the wall. 

"I will call a House Elf to fetch you an uniform. Would you please sit down meanwhile?"

Hermione, still sitting in the big armchair, smiled up at the man while Draco didn't budge.

"I'm more comfortable standing."

"Well then, alright."

The man turned around and proceeded to look over something on his desk when Hermione stood up and addressed him once again.

"Sir? We have another problem."

"And that would be?"

"Well, we cannot keep our actual names. In our time, we both are relatively famous. I am because I am best friend to the world's strongest wizard, and he is because he's the son of one of the biggest assholes alive and will shortly be outplaying his father by far."

"Oh, what a compliment."

"Yeah, worse is, you probably _believe_ it to be one."

"Fuck off, slut."

"Ah, no witty comebacks anymore? Poor boy."

He sent the girl a vicious glare, warning her to go any further and amazingly, she responded to him.

"Anyway. Sir? We need cover identities."

"Have you thought of your preferential name possibilities?"

"Yes, sir, I have indeed. From now on until I get back to Harry and Ron, I want both of you to call me only by Mia Stewart, because a slip up could be fatal in certain circumstances. You too, Malfoy, you heard me?"

"Didn't I tell you once that I do not take orders from things inferior to me?" 

"Sure, ass."

"What name have you chosen, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Darius Stowe."

"How very cliché. I figured you'd pick something silly like Draco." 

"I believe I already told your little love puppy that I will not have my name joked with by you idiots."

"And what are you gonna do? Call Daddy? Look, he's right over there!"

Now she was leaning against the wall in this lazy, superior demeanor while he stood in front of her, frowning angrily. She seemed to be unfazed by his advance at her. That is until his fist connected with the brick wall beside her. Again her eyes widened to the deer-in-headlights look, the fright creeping back onto her expression. He smirked.

"Don't piss off people you're scared of."

"I'm not-"

"Please, my children, I do not want any violence in this office."

Draco backed off and reclaimed his stance of utter disinterest while Hermione once again fled into the chair beside the desk. 

The House Elf arrived, handing several Gryffindor robes over to Dumbledore who held them out to Draco.

"Take them to your room in Gryffindor Tower again, and try them on. Then I wish you two to go over to the sixth year common rooms and introduce yourself as Mia and Darius. Your beds will be taken care of."

"But, professor, we don't have any luggage. Doesn't that seem weird?"

"Do you have money?"

"Yes, sir, a few galleons."

Draco merely nodded lazily.

"Then you had a problem with the Apparition of your things. They got lost and you will be excused tomorrow to shop for new things."

"Thank you, sir."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione lay on the bed in the Secret Room, completely engrossed in '_Hogwarts: A History'_, which she miraculously had found on the huge, dusty bookshelf while Draco sat in another one of those huge armchairs, glaring at the blazing fire. He was still trying to find out just how they had been brought a good twenty years back into the past and _why_. And these fucking robes were hurting his eyes. 

"You know, Malfoy, eventually, we'll have to go and face them."

"I can't take all that scarlet and gold right now. My eyes need adjusting time." 

"Oh, come on, let's go. I'm tired of sitting around."

"And I care because?"

"Because I can associate with Gryffindors a lot better than you do, due to the fact that I _am_ one."  

"Who said I had to associate? We only have to sleep in the same room and participate in the same classes."

"Maybe because anyone in Gryffindor would? Look, you have to accommodate to your surroundings for a while, which happen to be Gryffindor all the way."

"Do you _have_ to remind me of that? I'm miserable enough with only _you_ around, I don't really need crowd of idiots alike." 

"Oh, just go kill yourself, idiot."

"I would have other suggestions, but they include homicide none the less."

Without even so much as acknowledging his threat, she snapped the book close and stood up, mentally revising everything she had to keep in mind to bring the right performance. Then she nodded, contented with herself, and sauntered over to the door. 

"You know Malfoy, you better come with me now."

"And why is that, Mudblood?"

"Because Gryffindor Tower has its perfidies. You'd certainly get lost, so come on."

He pushed himself off the chair, a deep growl eliciting from his throat.

Hermione paid no attention, just opened the door and stalked out.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey, Lily, look! Who's that?"

The redhead looked up from her homework, eying the couple that stood in the door. A petite brunette, looking cute and a little lost, but resolute none-the-less, and a tall blond who held a mystifying resemblance to the stupid git Lucius Malfoy. His air seemed to be less cruel though, in a way. But hostile none the less.

She rose from her chair and walked over, catching the girl's gaze. 

"Hello you two. Can I help you?"

The girl smiled in what seemed like relief and extended her hand.

"Yes. I'm Mia Stewart, and this is Darius Stowe, we're exchange students for this year."

Smiling, Lily grabbed her hand and shook it, sending an inconspicuous glance to the young man beside her. His arms were crossed over his chest, his glare swaying from her to Mia again in an apparent display of dislike and snideness. They really did not seem to like each other.

Lily thought about holding out her hand to him, too, but he did not seem as if he would take it. So she let the topic go, instead turning to the girl again. 

"By the way, I'm Lily Evans. Say, you're pretty late for an exchange, aren't you?"

The girl smiled, oddly almost blushing.

"Well, yes, but that's due to the schedule differences between Scotland and Australia... and frankly, I didn't even want to participate, due to... certain circumstances," at which she cocked her head in Darius' direction, who was standing with his back against the wall and calmly surveying the scene, "but we have some problems at home and so I volunteered to come." 

"_Volunteered_. You say it as if you had agreed to brush a crocodile's teeth every morning."

"Have you ever seen a blond crocodile?"

Lily giggled and gestured for her to sit down next to them. The girl seemed nice enough. 

"Hey, Remus. Look, this is Mia. She's an exchange student from Australia."

"Hello Mia, my name is Remus."

Mia smiled again. 

"Yes, I heard."

She sat down next to the two, glancing over Lily's shoulder to catch a peek at her homework.

"Uh, sorry if I'm impolite, Lily... but you made a mistake there, and I heard Prof. Snape does not tolerate them from you Gryffindors too much. That's three slices of goat-beard, not two. Otherwise you'd end up green."

Lily smiled up at the new girl, surprised. 

"Hey, thanks. Are you good at potions?"

"Relatively, I guess. Why?"

"Well, uh... could you help me out with my homework?"

"Oh, sure. Hand it over, I'll do it for you."

"Oh hey, you're nice."

Mia smiled.

"No, I'm a bookworm and bored, that's all."

Lily grinned back. She was beginning to like that girl.

Within half an hour, Mia had a three pages essay written and spell-checked. And she'd found a fan. Two fans, actually. Remus and Lily were really nice, and they liked her for being her, and they loved her for doing their Potions homework. 

After finishing, Hermione threw a quick glance over at Draco, who still stood against the wall in his trained loner stance, but occasionally, he would answer one of the boy's questions, and mostly he did without too much insulting or hostility, which was a pretty good sign. 

Lily had followed her gaze and spat:

"Yeah, I figured he'd be over there with the bunch of morons. Looks like he's in good company."

"What?"

She curled her lip derisively, then went to enlighten poor, confused Mia.

"That over there are Sirius Black and James Potter. Members of the ridiculous formation 'The Marauders', sorry, Moony, and the biggest prats I have ever got the chance to make acquaintance of." 

"What are 'The Marauders'?"

Remus smiled at her and answered for Lily.

"'The Marauders' consist of me, 'Moony', Peter, 'Wormtail', Sirius, 'Padfoot', and James, 'Prongs'. The nicknames refer to us in Animagus form, and we like to play pranks. And I'm the only one Lily officially tolerates."

"Yes, because you're the only one of them that can be classified as actually thinking once in a while."

"Ohh, right. Lily? Could it be that I saw you and James fighting some hours ago?"

"That's the only thing you see them doing together."

Lily, desperate to get the conversation on to another topic, leaned over to Mia and asked:

"Say, do you know if your Darius has anything to do with a Lucius Malfoy?"

No. Just father and son, you know, nothing serious. 

"No, I don't think so, but I can't tell for sure since I don't know Lucius and quite frankly, I don't know Blondie over there any better."

Remus nodded as he looked over to him.

"You're right, Lily, he has a fascinatingly close resemblance to Lucius, both in looks and demeanor."

"Yeah, have you seen the way he glares at Mia from time to time?"

"Hey, guys, I'm still right here, stop talking as if I was absent."

The two looked at each other, then answered her with a sheepish grin:

"Sorry, Mia, old habit."

"Hey, it's still warm, can we go outside for a while?"

"Sure, you in, Moony?"

"But of course, darling."

Lily giggled, then extended her hand so Remus could lift her up. Then he did the same to Hermione, eliciting a small, surprised cry from the girl and thus, more giggles from Lily.

"Don't mind him, he does that sometimes."

"Please follow me, Your Highnesses." 

The girls smiled and walked after him, passing by the couch where the boys were.

"_Stewart_!" 

Had it been only for the name, Hermione would have just continued on her way. But it was the way he spat it, just like _Granger_. 

"What do you want, Stowe?"

"You should watch out for your hair, the bush could mutate and eat you alive."

She sent a derisive scowl his way, beginning to walk again.

"And you should watch out for your humour, before it manages to escape completely."

With that, she waved her hand in an arrogant, dismissive manner she knew would piss him off to no end.

Draco scowled, turning back to nothing in particular. 

"Damn bitch."

James made a confused face and asked:

"Hey, Darius, what is it that you two have? Some kind of family feud or something?"

No, it's more about blood and the product of you and that redhead. 

"No, she just gets on my nerves."

"Why? She's nice. Beautiful, too."

He raised a sceptical eyebrow, and James was proud to think that he had caused the only change in facial expressions they had seen the young man do up to now. 

"If she's beautiful, I'm gay. In all my life, I have never seen anyone as ugly."

Besides Bullstrode and Parkinson. 

James looked pensive as he tried to explain his point:

"No, I mean, she's not beautiful in the common sense, but there is something about her... her aura or something..."

Wrong woman, Potter. You have some history- er, future with pretty Lily out there.

"Should we follow them? Play some pranks?"

James' face broke into the same mischievous smile that was evident on Sirius' and he nodded. 

"Come on, Darius, let's get some fun."

Draco sent him a glare. 

"So that's what you Scots call fun? Play pranks on some stupid girls?"

"Well, yup. Come on, you should see the way Lily gets when she catches James trying something. It's ridiculous."

The glare was transferred to Sirius, immediately slightly dimming his bright grin. Ah yes. Another one of those idiots.

"Alright, pal, if you want to stand here all evening and stare at the admittedly incredibly interesting couch over there, be my guest. But believe me, the fights of James Potter and Lily Evans are worth missing at least five Quidditch World Cup Games!"

"Fine, but do me a favour and stop talking for a while. You're annoying me." 

"Gee, you're uptight, man."

No, but I'm sensitive about my name. Among other things.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Wow, it's so beautiful here! Much better than in Australia! There's nothing green where I live, all red and dusty."

Despite the fact that Hermione had seen Hogwarts and its surroundings countless times, she truly _was_ amazed. 

In her time, she never really got to admire the beautiful landscape.

"Yeah, it is. Come on, let's go over to the lake, it's great."

The three walked over, eying each other and grinning, speeding up little by little. Then suddenly, Lily broke out into a run, trying to be the first to arrive. Remus and Mia followed suit, and they ran for what they were worth. 

Finally, Hermione managed to put a shaking hand to the trunk of the tree she leant on, signalising that she'd been first. The three collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath and laughing like mad. 

"Have you seen the 'Strong Sex' lag behind us like an old cow? That was so-"

Remus glared and pouted and the girls giggled again. 

Yeah, it's something different than listening Ron and Harry talk about Quidditch the whole time...

Hermione was beginning to like Lily. And Remus. And the whole being here thing, having a female friend other than the one ogling after your best friend. It was a nice change. 

Finally, when all their laughter had died down and their phrenics hurt like hell, Hermione sank back into the tree and sighed blissfully, her eyes drifting close. This was _so_ nice...

"AAAAH!"

Lily's cry made her eyes snap open, but before she had the chance to do anything, she was lifted up by two strong arms and felt herself flying through the air, until she hit the water.

Gasping and spluttering, the two girls broke through the surface again, glaring straight at four intensely satisfied looking boys. 

"Who threw me?"

The boys looked at each other, then back at Hermione, trying to fake an innocent expression and failing miserably. Her gaze switched to Draco, observing his sneer. If he had done it, he'd try to look innocent and _succeed_. Nope, all spiteful satisfaction. So what were the options? James. Well, she didn't know him, his grin was more turned into Lily's direction. And Sirius, well, Sirius was trying hard to feign ignorance to both her angry and wet looks and the glare of suspicion she had glued to him. 

"This was your doing, wasn't it? You know, it's common practice that you introduce yourself to a girl before throwing them into a lake." 

"Oh. Whoops. I'm Sirius Black and this is James Potter, best friend to me and dearest foe to cute lil' Lily over there." 

"Oh, shut up, Sirius, and Potter, if I ever get out of this damn algae again, you are so dead!" 

"Oh, honestly, you really terrify me, Lily. See, I'm running already, looking for shelter."

Sirius chuckled as he watched Lily grow angry. Her cheeks flushed and she waded towards the shore, shooting daggers at the young men.

"Remus, dare grin like that for another second and I'll so very much kill you. As to you, Potter, run!" 

Hermione watched as her new friend grew madder and madder, and she found herself reaching for her arm and addressing her:

"Don't, Lily. It's not worth the energy. That's all he wants anyway, seeing you react to him. The worst you can do to him now is ignore him." 

Lily's face turned to hers, and she nodded with a surprised expression. 

"You're right. Hey, you're good at this. Being all sensible and convince me not to do something stupid, I mean. Would you like to have a full-time job?"

Hermione smiled, but she could not help feeling slightly bitter. Yeah, that's all I'm capable of, studying and being sensible, huh? 

"Anyways, let's get outta here. I'm getting awfully cold in this water."

Lily linked her arm through Hermione's and they went ashore, after a small struggle with very possessive water plants, while the boys kept watching them, grinning once in a while.

"Lily?"

"Huh?"

"Are you strong?"

Lily looked at the girl beside her, sending her a funny look.

"More or less. Why?"

"Think you could take Sirius and James if we paired up together?"

A mischievous smile fought its way onto the young woman's face.

"Depends. I never really tried if I could take them on, but besides, what do we have to lose? We're wet already anyways."

"Exactly my train of thought."

"So... try them?"

The girls stepped out of the water and looked at the unsuspecting guys standing a few feet away. Then they turned to each other again, grinning widely:

"Most definitely!"

"You take James, I'll take Sirius."

Hermione frowned.

"Why?"

"Because I would certainly wring his neck."

"Oh. Sure."

"Hey, wait. What about Darius over there? He's been looking a hell of a lot too comfortable seeing us struggle in the water."

"Well, that wouldn't be as easy. You see, he's strong, and when he's angry, he is downright dangerous. Besides, the surprise effect would already be gone."

"But please? He's as much responsible as those other two morons. Let's say, I try Remus, you try Darius?"

"Deal."

Hermione knew that she did not stand a chance, but something inside her was pushing her to do it. To see how far she could go, how far his limits went. She wanted to see him angry, uncontrolled, human for once. Why she did not know. She threw a quick glance in Draco's direction and discovered that seemingly, he saw right through her. His eyes spoke a warning more dangerous than his words ever could, and despite the fact that she was too sensible to do it, his killer glare would've stopped a rhino. And since she knew James was far less violent, he was more of an option. 

She approached the young man, smiling. His head turned down slightly, and she caught a small redness on his cheeks. Her smile widened. He looked so much like Harry. 

"Hey, you're James, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. Why?"

"Well, Lily told me about you."

He chuckled.

"Then I do not want to know what you think of me." 

"Oh, I think you're nice. A little-... exhausting perhaps, but still nice." 

She meant it. He was too much like Harry for her not to like him. His face brightened in the exact same way his son's would whenever he heard something he liked. 

"Oh, hey, you aren't wearing your robes!"

"Uh... no, I'm not. And?"

"Oh, that's good."

She had calmly sauntered over to the lakeside, trying not to be obvious.

"Why is that?"

"Wouldn't want them getting wet, now would we?"

He was too much taken by surprise to fight her, completely caught off guard as he connected with the surface and sunk under it rapidly, while Hermione giggled hysterically, Lily joining in beside her.

The boy came back up again, pouting and glaring at the two laughing women. 

"Hey, that was not nice!"

"Your face! You should've seen your face, Potter!"  Lily was laughing tears by now, curling on the ground and gripping her midriff as if trying to ease the sting caused be lack of oxygen. 

"Shut up, Evans! I'll get you for that, both of you! Sirius?" 

"Bet on it!"

The two boys fought to come out of the lake and eventually succeeded, but the girls had already picked themselves up and run a good distance, still giggling occasionally. 

"Stowe?"

The young man looked over to him, fixing him with a gaze of intense disinterest. 

"Wanna help?"

"Why would I?"

"You don't like Mia, do you?"

"Not by any means."

"See? You could throw her into the lake! It's fun, really!"

"Once again, why would I?"

"To keep from being petrified in this pose? Honestly, I don't think you moved at all since you came here!"

"And?"

"Aw, come on, lighten up, dude!"

Whatever his heart and mind sought after, it was not 'lightening up' while throwing Granger into a lake. But still, he found himself watching them catch up to the two girls, all four engrossed in their happy mood. 

A mood he would never share. No, Draco Malfoy did not know what happiness was, and he had never given much to find out, but somehow, the fact that he could never be more than a spectator while they enjoyed themselves made him feel excluded and bitter. They never even considered that maybe, just maybe, even he could want happiness after all. 

He turned around and headed for Gryffindor Tower, not bothering to wait for someone who didn't want him to wait for them, who didn't spend any second thought that he could be not Lucius' son, but Draco, just Draco, human, once in a while. 

Whatever, Malfoy. Don't bother. They're not worth it.

And he did not realize that he recited exactly the words Hermione performed in her head like a spell every time he pissed her off, trying to convince himself that he was actually right.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yeah, so what do you think so far? Thanks to my two reviewers, I was glad someone even read this. 

Darius means 'The Mighty' in ancient Greek, and Mia's supposed to be a short form of Maria, 'The Beautiful'.

As for Ephesos Academy, all made up by me. Ephesos means magic in ancient Greek.

So, well... tell me what's on your mind. 


	3. The Inkling Of A Truce

**_A/N:_ **Okay, next one out. Thanks a bunch to all my reviewers, Liv C. Wood, tom4eva, Dark-Queen, kawaii_s&s, Tabii, Sunflower-chan, PunkyPrincesss13 (Hehe… whoops, kinda had Scotland memorized, so I'll just refer to it more general in the future. Thanks!), and DazzilinAngel555. 

Yeah, well, not much to say to that one, no big happenings whatsoever, I think. But you still gotta read it, now that you're there! And might I kindly ask you to review?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Gasping desperately, I clenched onto my stomach to make me stop laughing, since I was in frantic need of oxygen. But all my attempts remained fruitless and I was close to just go green and die when... 

When that fucking bastard entered my mind again and my giggling ceased instantly. Well, for once he'd been useful after all. 

I looked up and did my best to glare at the three boys in front of me, although I had a hard time doing so. I didn't really see the Marauders anymore, I was seeing Ron and Harry, grinning and picking me off the ground. Then they proceeded to help Lily, who didn't seem to have caught herself just yet, to her feet as well. She was trying hard to look angry and pushed their arms away as soon as she was sure she wouldn't fall backwards again. 

"Oh, I'm gonna get you bastards, bet on it!", The redhead spat out, but the effect was lessened considerably by her constant giggles, so all she got were simultaneous, good-natured grins. 

"Suure, Lily." 

James reflected Sirius' bright grin, turning around and letting his gaze travel before he frowned. _So_ Harry.

"Hey, guys, where's Stowe?"

Okay, so _not_ Harry. James sounded actually concerned and if anything, Harry would never be worrying over _him_. But I discovered that he was right, Draco was gone. I turned to face my new friends and saw Sirius scratch his head, looking around as well.

"He's not there anymore..."

"Oh, _really_?"

James was scoffing at his friend, who grinned sheepishly in return.

"We still gotta melt that guy. Mia, be prepared. I swear that by the end of your visit, I'll get that man to throw you into this lake."

Oh. _What_ a prospect. I felt my eyebrow go up, but Sirius didn't seem to notice my gesture of derisive inquiring. Oh, yes, red hair or not, he was _just_ like Ron. At that thought, my lips curled up into a small, pleasant smile. 

"Don't dismiss it like that, Padfoot really means it!"

I directed my gaze up to see James grinning at me, poking a finger into Sirius' chest, who growled in playful warning.

"Yeah, and then you will be helplessly lost, you two vixens!"

Lily rolled her eyes at them and turned to me with a resigned smile. 

"Don't worry, that's normal. They are like that all the time, you're gonna get used to it once."

Funny, that didn't really sound like she hated them. But on the other hand, you simply _couldn't_ hate them. Too childish and cute, once again just like Harry and Ron. 

"Come on, guys, let's get inside. Darkness will fall soon."

"Ah yes, moony, always the sensible one, huh?"

Sirius slapped his friend on the shoulder and grinned. Remus smiled back at him good-naturedly and hooked arms with Lily, heading for the Tower. Lily grabbed my arm and pulled me along with them, grinning.

"Come on, I can't leave you alone with these two idiots. Let's get back up."

"Hey, Lily, Mia, wait!" I turned my head to see James and Sirius catching up with us. James came up beside me and Sirius decided to accompany Remus. We made our way in silence, but it was companionable and not at all awkward. I already felt like I was one of them, like I had walked these few meters along with them for years, not just one day.

Once again the Gryffindors had proven how welcoming they were. Unlike other houses... and persons I might add...

Oh, damn it, Herm! What's happening to me?! Yes, of course I hate him, and I will forever, I'm sure, but he kinda manages to constantly enter my mind at the most inadequate of times... mostly when enjoying myself, and he always succeeds in putting a stop or at least a dimmer to it. 

Like now. Instead of just walking on and avoid spending any thoughts to him, I find my hyperactive brain desperately trying to analyze his sudden and, for his means, pretty quiet exit. What would make Draco Malfoy leave like that? I mean, if he were a normal, heart-possessing person, I'd almost say he was _hurt_, with the way he- Argh!

See? I'm doing it all over again! Stupid, stupid, stupid! He's not worth your time, he doesn't waste any thought on you, either!

I felt a lot less good now, and all I could do to keep my thoughts from just reverting right back to him was getting something to observe. After a little while I decided on Lily, watching her through my lashes. She was a lot more like Ginny that I had first thought. If she'd lived long enough, she would have probably been more similar to Ginny than Mrs. Weasley herself was. 

I cast my head down when I saw she was looking up. I didn't like to be stared at, even if it was by a girl, and I couldn't imagine why Lily would think otherwise. But soon, I realized she wasn't looking at me- she was staring straight at James. 

I felt a grin spread over my features. Of _course_ she hated him, how could I even _assume _anything remotely different?

This may sound a little out-of-character for me, but yes, I _loved _to play matchmaker. And with both Harry and Ron, it had worked miraculously well. And besides, due to certain members of the Weasley clan, I was sure to know a lovesick redhead when I spotted one. But as I had learned they could be a little... well, uh, difficult in situations concerning their love life –or the lack of it- and that it needed an insane amount of convincing to get them out of their rabbit hole sometimes. 

Ginny for example, being one of the more quiet young Weasley's, had admitted her love to whomever cared enough to ask her a few times, but never acted on it. She was the type for secret adoration. After everyone but Harry finally knew, I had spent three days straight trying to convince Ginny to tell him, and all I got was a hug. A tight one, but still. But whatever, ever since, Harry and Ginny were inseparable. 

Ron on the other hand was more outgoing. Which is why he had yelled at me to shut up when I had first 'accused' him- his own choice of words- of being in love with Lavender. My first reaction was to just smile and wait for him to calm down, but sometimes, my subconscious is a lot faster and clever than my active mind is. And so I found myself stalking out of the Great Hall, pretending to be angry with him until he gave up two days later and confessed in front of the whole sixth year Gryffindors, even though on accident. Well, Lavender seemed to be impressed, and another happy couple had found together. 

And if I could simply transfer my observations on Harry and Ginny to James and Lily, which I arrantly was doing right now, they had the exact same problems. James was suffering temporary emotional ignorance and Lily wasn't showing her feelings. Though I had a indistinct notion that she would react more like Ron when I asked her about it. 

And then and there, I had my officially first ever 'Oh-My-God-I'm-Thunderstruck!' moment, suddenly beaming and exclaiming loudly:

"Of _course_!"

Then the moment wore off, and I saw myself confronted with the weird stares of my four companions, stuttering an explanation to keep them unsuspecting towards my person: 

"Uh...never mind, I found the solution to a difficult Arithmacy assignment." 

Still sceptical, but none the less satisfied with my excuse, they turned their gazes forward again and I let out a silent held breath. More caution, girl! 

But still, I was damn proud of myself for finding the cause of our stay, which was surely more than Malfoy could say. 

If I really transferred all my observations to the couple next to me, I had to act on the assumption that James and Lily would be helplessly lost without a nice, friendly matchmaker, since they would never even think of telling the other, or, in James' probable case, were to dumb to have noticed yet. 

I nodded in satisfaction and fortunately, it went unnoticed. Now all I had to do was find Malfoy and let him in on this delicate subject. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Fucking colors. Fucking fire. Fucking chair. Fucking robes. Damn fucking Gryffindors. I growled lowly, clenching my jaw in anger at everything and anything.

I was sitting in this big armchair in that oh-so-secret room again, staring into the fire –which had the same fucking colors as anything around here and was hurting my poor, green-black adjusted eyes- and well... brooding.

I'll admit, this afternoon bothered me. Not bother in Gryffindor sense, of course, but it was everything but normal that a Malfoy spent seconds, even third thoughts on a bunch of pathetic Gryffindors. I mean, please, how often have I seen those three idiots joke around with each other while completely ignoring me? And how often has it bothered me? Never. Never _before_, I might add. Oh, fuck them! All of them!

Suddenly, the door burst open and my head snapped around, startled. Granger was standing in the doorway. Of course, who else could run in when not needed or wanted with such a fascinating precision? She was still unbeaten in that category. 

"Man, I searched for you the past hour! Can't you be somewhere more obvious?"

I felt my lips curl into an almost automatic, derisive sneer and I lifted my eyebrow, responding in a monotone voice: 

"Where could I be in Gryffindor Tower where I know barely more than three rooms?"

Oh, she was blushing! Little miss prefect was blushing at such a banal retort. I seriously thought I'd never seen anything as pathetic in my whole life. It looked for a moment like she was about to scowl at me, but she shrugged me off with a surprising nonchalance:

"Oh, right. Whatever, doesn't matter. I found the solution!"

And again she was beaming with this repulsively cute expression of satisfaction, like she did every time she-

Holy fucking SHIT! Had my bloody insane mind just called her cute?! The Potter-obsessive, bossy, know-it-all troll Granger, _cute_?! Oh my god, I needed to go to St.Mungo's _now_. What happened to me, to the great Draco M-

"Uh...Malfoy? Are you listening to me?"

I looked up and glared at her hatefully, spitting through clenched teeth:

"No, of course I'm not! Why would I?"

"Because maybe I've found a solution to our location problem."

"And that would be?"

"I'll tell you if you manage to sound at least a tiny bit interested."

Oh, why can't you morons just all go and commit collective suicide?! 

"Why would I be? I don't give a fuck if I'm here or twenty years into the future. It's the same anyways."

"Oh, really? And what about you being Gryffindor? And let me tell you one thing, git: In case you weren't aware, if you are planning to spend your life in this time, then be sure of one thing: You will _never again_ be Draco Malfoy. As long as you are here, you are Darius Stowe, without family, without history, without future, but what is probably most important to you, without even an _ounce_ of power. All you can do is watch your younger self grow up into the same complete social failure you are and dwell on the fact that you are simply _nothing_. Is that what you want?" 

Okay, point made. Fuck, she was right! I couldn't stay here. The only advantage I would ever really have of being a Malfoy was owning the Malfoy fortunes, which would never happen if I stay in this time. My pensive frown turned into the usual sneer again when I faced her.

"Okay, for once I have to agree with you, I'd rather not stay here."

"See? I'm always right. But whatever. I told you two minutes ago that I believe we have a task here."

"Talk about a newsflash. You said that already three and a half hours ago."

"Fine, so I repeated it, okay? See, I was the one that convinced Harry and Ginny they were meant for each other. Otherwise they would have never gotten this far."

"Interesting, really. And oh-so-touching."

My expression, displaying disinterest in heavy masses, made her frown in annoyance. Oh, it was too easy to get her upset, really.

"Oh, will you listen to me for a second, dumb ass? Harry was emotionally _deaf_. He didn't know a thing of Ginny's affection despite the fact that it was common gossip for about two years. And I strongly believe that James is just as bad. So what are we gonna do? We hook him up with Lily."

What?! This chick honestly believes I'm _that_ dumb? That I would hook up Harry 'Oh-I'm-So-Great' Potter if I have the chance to forever leave that bastard in the netherworld?! All I managed to launch out was a short, very much mirthless laugh.

"And you expect me to cause Potter when I have the chance to get rid of one of the worst mortal enemies I ever really had without landing in Azkaban? Honestly, Granger, I knew you were insane!"

She growled and fixed me with a lethal glare, only adding to my dry amusement.

"Shut up, idiot. What are you gonna do if we don't 'cause' Harry? We'd probably bound to stay in this time together -and I am too angry to recite my speech of consequences for you right now- and what's way worse, the Dark Lord would have no one to fight him, he'd be able to take over both the Muggle and the Wizarding World in the blink of an eye! You don't want him to rule, you said so yourself. So, as much as I hate you and you hate me and we both know it, you also know I'm right on this one. This is our only choice to have things go back to what we want them to be. We have to try it."

Fuck, why did this bloody bitch always have to be right?! I could have wrung her neck right then, but I decided to wait for Crabbe and Goyle to be around again. They were more fit for the dirty work. 

"Hello? Anyone in there?"

I snapped back into reality and slapped the hand before my face away, growling and looking up to the ceiling. Well, what did I have to loose? It was either trying and succeeding, or trying and failing, or voluntarily staying here. Here where I was nothing. A nothing with Granger by my side, even worse. 

"Alright, fine, but give me so much as _one_ order and I'll lynch you."

She raised a bored eyebrow.

"Wow, I'm _frightened_."

"Fuck off."

That smug grin of hers appeared yet again and I scowled once more, passing her and leaving her standing behind me to indicate that this conversation was _clearly_ over. I didn't bother to turn around, just went to the common room and took on my favourite stance by the wall again, left alone by everyone and concentrated on my thoughts. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey Mia! Come on, we're heading down for breakfast."

Granger smiled and linked arms with that redhead, heading for the portrait while three pairs of eyes followed them. I was watching them to make sure Granger didn't screw up, Black was undoubtedly planning his next prank and Potter seemed to be slightly fascinated with the brunette troll. Ugh. 

"Sirius?"

"Huh?"

"What do you think of her?"

"Lily? She's okay-"

Potter was frowning in annoyance and I was growing suspicious. 

"No, not Lily. Why would I ask you what you think of Lily? She's been in the same year for what? Seven years?"

Why did he want to know? Wrong woman, idiot!

"Oh, you mean Mia. She's nice, friendly and helpful, and kinda cute. Why?"

"Oh, no reason."

Black was busy eying Potter with a questioning frown, and Potter was busy avoiding his friend's gaze, so they missed my reaction. My eyes were narrowed and I glared at the black haired bastards with all my might. Oh, I hate Gryffindors! And I hate fucking Granger! My only chance to get out of this bloody hellhole and she blows it!

 "Oh, don't tell me you have a thing for the bitch."

James looked up sharply, shooting me a warning glare.

"Don't call her that."

Amazing how much he and his spawn were looking alike, defending the Mudblood and all. Oh, I'm beginning to miss him!

Call me cynical, but the only response I knew to so much dumbness was sarcasm. I raised my eyebrows and retorted:

"I call her whatever I want, and believe me, she _is_ one. She's bossy and the teacher's pet and an absolute know-it-all. You have nothing but trouble with that damn woman."

"Oh, I don't think so. She seems really nice to me, and cute and beautiful, but if you treat her this way, it's natural for her to act bitchy towards you!"

"Look, Potter, I know we don't agree on this one, but as much as I won't change your mind, you won't change mine. She's a complete, utter bitch."

"Yeah, whatever. Oh, wow, you spoke... wait, let me count...six grammatically correct sentences! You're improving."

"Fuck off."

 "Okay, that makes it seven."

Oh, did I mention lately that I _hate_ Gryffindors?!

"Come on, you two, postpone your little lover's quarrel until later, or we'll miss out on breakfast."

"Shut the hell up, Black." 

 Potter cleared his throat and grinned.

"Yeah, that's my train of thoughts, too, but you could try to express yourself a little less... _drastic_." 

"Why? He looks like Chesire Cat anyway."

James looked at Sirius, who was grinning brightly at my demeanor, and nodded.

"Okay, good point."

"My point is always good."

"Come on, guys, I'm starving!"

James grinned and patted Sirius on the head.

"Alright, Padfoot, let's go get your dog food."

Sirius made a panting noise and his friend's grin widened, while I merely raised a significant silver eyebrow. Really. So pathetic. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sirius plopped down in the seat next to Lily's, grinning at her and me and greeting:

"Good morning, Ladies! Why, your beauty has already made my dim world a brighter place!"

Lily rolled her eyes at him while I mustered up a good-natured smile, dismissing his teasing.

"Oh, be quiet, you."

"You'll have to get used to it, because from him, you never get anything else."

I smiled up at James who sat down opposite of me, then gave Draco a quick acknowledging glance when he sat down in the next seat. 

"So, Mia, what classes do you have today?"

I smiled again and answered James:

"Oh, I won't go to classes today. I have to go buy new stuff with Darius here because they had problems with the Apparition. Our things just kinda... vanished, so we don't have anything on us right now."

"Oh, you're going with her?"

James threw Draco a questioning glance at which the silver haired adolescent nodded lazily. The other boy eyed him and shook his head in exaggeration.

"Man, do you ever talk if it's not really necessary?"

Nope, of course he didn't. Only if he was to taunt somebody. 

"Waste of energy."

What did I say? I'm always right. 

"Says the Master Of Sentences Consisting Of Less Than Ten Syllables."

"Fuck. Off."

Ha, gotcha! I grinned along with my new comrades while Draco's expression darkened dangerously. 

"Ah, come on, Darius, she's just kidding."

"I don't give a fuck what she's doing."

James sighed and turned to me, sending a discreet glance back to Draco to make sure he wasn't listening before whispering in a low voice:

"Ah, don't mind him. He's not all that bad. I think if he loosened up a bit he might make quite a good friend."

_What?!_

I raised my eyebrows incredulously, at a temporary loss of words. My god, what would Harry say if he sat next to me right now, listening to his own father trying to convince his best friend -and constant target to the git- that Draco Malfoy wasn't a bad person. He'd probably fall of his chair laughing at the insane suggestion. But I knew myself. I knew that my damn logical mind was just now considering James' words, giving Draco the honor of a revision to test if his words were correct. 

It really sucks being sensible, believe me. 

There's times when I really hated being all that thoughtful. I knew Harry and Ron would just brush this off as impossible and not brood over it half a year, and I knew that I should think the same way, but somehow couldn't. I guess I would never find out if this had to do with Draco himself or the general workings of my mind, but I damned whatever was responsible none the less. 

"What exactly are you staring at, Stewart?"

I snapped out of my stupor to find Draco eying me with annoyance. Wait, since when was I referring to him as _Draco_?! 

"Wondering if plastic surgery could be your rescue, but sadly, I don't see it happening."

"What the bloody hell is _plastic surgery_?!"

I hid my smile. I knew Malfoy didn't really give a damn if he was being insulted, but if he didn't know what he was saying, it was probably a lot less fun for him. Draco didn't really mind being insulted, but if he didn't know what she was saying it was a lot less fun. And that damn grin indicated that if he knew, he would not like it at all. 

"Oh, never mind. Wouldn't help you anyway. A muggle thing."

I resumed to eating my breakfast, still smiling subtly and mentally giggling at the anger that was radiating off the silver haired teen in powerful waves.  

"Okay, guys, I'm out! Are you finished, Remus?"

"Yeah, almost!"

The boy shoved another piece of egg into his mouth and nodded at Lily, indicating he was ready, but due to the huge amounts of food in his mouth absolutely unable to properly state it. Lily rolled her eyes and grabbed his elbow, pulling him along with her while James and Sirius were finishing up as well. 

"Well, see you at dinner, Mia. And have fun with your... companion over there."

I sent her a mocking scowl.

"Out of my sight!"

Lily giggled lightly and waved at me.

"Bye!"

"Later!"

The quartet made a rushed exit and once more, I was left with Draco and a heavy silence. I sighed, turning around to him and was startled to find him look at me, though never losing this infuriating air of total indifference. 

"What, are you going to stare at me all day or get your damn Gryffindor ass up to Dumbledore?"

"Hey, watch out, pretty boy, this table is _full_ of Gryffindors, and they don't take lightly to others insulting their kind." 

"Yeah, I know. You should see you three idiots through my eyes once. Each sticking up for the other, and each sounding more dumb and innocuous than the other. You lot are _so_ pathetic." 

"Well, at least I have someone I can stick up for. Like, maybe, friends? They ain't so bad, try it sometime."

"Sod off, Granger!"

Ouch. I hadn't expected to get such a heated, almost aggressive reply, but if he wanted to be in a bad mood, then please, no prob. I decided to taunt him nonetheless, considering he would not stop either if we switched places now. 

"Oh, did I hit a sore spot? You do seem a little touchy, Malfoy."

"Don't call me that out here."

"Don't worry, nobody's listening."

"Oh, right, like anyone would listen to you. How could I forget that?" 

Don't bother, girl, he just wants to get you upset.

But, of course, when did a girl ever listen to herself? I _did_ bother, felt myself grow irritated at the stupid git again despite all reason. Felt my face scrunch up into a mask of annoyance. Saw his smirk spread.

Asshole.

"Come on, I don't have time for your bickering."

"Malfoy's don't bicker."

Oh, of course. I sighed derisively and pushed my chair back, progressing to stalk out of the hall. I didn't bother to wait for him since he'd catch up anyway with those long legs of his. But of course I didn't _care_ if he caught up. 

"Sure they don't. It would be too normal, huh? Too banal, too muggle-like. Malfoy's don't do anything remotely normal, they're _special_. They can't act as if they're actually alive. Come on, I know you're not like that."

"Would you do me a favor and just fuck off, bitch?"

His irritated scowl was evidence enough for me. I was getting to him, at least a little bit. Despite my still eagerly blossoming anger, I quirked my lips into a lopsided smile.

"See? That's what I mean. Your father would have stayed completely calm. I bet there's a rule stating 'Malfoy's don't get angry over anything else than fellow family members' or something. And you tend to react to my, for a lack of a better word, provocations quite un-Malfoy-like lately. I mean, not that I want you to not react, but trust me, if you fight back, the effect of scaring me wears off completely."

"Oh, so I scare you?"

Shit. Bad, bad girl. Why can't I just shut up for once?! Now he thinks he's the Messiah again!

"No, you don't."

But he didn't listen to my anyway, just smirking in a self-assured manner as we made our way up to Dumbledore's office. I grumbled incomprehensible, but surely not friendly things under my breath as I threw him a sideward glance. He looked like he'd wanted to hear that all life long. 

"Ah, what a useful bit of information, Granger. You're scared of me. Why, I'm flattered, really."

"Bugger off, idiot. You're pathetic, you know that? You practically get off at the fact that I was, on seldom occasions, a little scared of you! I mean, okay, I don't really want to know what else could cause this reaction since I'm not very thrilled at the idea of invading your twisted, perverted mind, but please! Get a life! Whoever within their right minds would be this... gleeful about the fear of others?"

"Well, me, obviously."

Helpless case! I threw my arms up in defeated frustration.

"Whatever."

Finally, we reached the big chamber that housed Dumbledore's office. The old man was waiting for us, his eyes sparkling and his mouth twisted into an amused smile.

"Ah, there you are, my children. I almost thought you might not come."

"I'm sorry Professor, we had a small fight and-"

"Oh, it is nothing grave, Miss Granger. Do not worry about such a minor thing. But please, you two, would you come over here so I can Apparate us to Diagon Alley?"

"Sure, Professor."

I stepped forward to the man and watched Malfoy doing the same.

"Would you please take each other's hand? It makes it easier for me."

What? Not for the life of me! I glared up at the ferret in pure disgust and he reflected my expression.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. All right, we have two possibilities: Taking Malfoy's hand and be forever unclean or get reprimanded by a teacher. Needless to say I picked number one, sighing and grabbing Malfoy's hand.

And yes, I know this sounds clichéd, but I read romance novels, too, and I can't think of another way to express it. When we touched, a small electrical impulse was set off in my hand, going straight for my brain and puzzling me to no end. I stared up at Draco, who had an equally bewildered look on his chiselled features, but before I could think any further, we were gone from the office. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**_A/N:_** Okay, that's it for now. I know, pretty boring and not much action on either side here, but still, I had to write it. I think it'll take another while until the real D/Hr action is to come, depends on my mood. Oh, and if you find any logical mistakes, this was first written in third person and then I changed it, so I might have overlooked something. Once again, tell me what you think.


	4. Complications

**_A/N: Look, it's aliiive! *shudder* No, really, I admit that I vanished for quite some time, but I'm alive and well. And I have a new nickname! And a new chapter, obviously. But anyway, on with the show! _**

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**_@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@_**

I slumped down the couch I had just plopped onto, and let out a big, tired sigh which alarmed Lily next to me: "Hey, Darling, what's the matter?"

Well, what _could_ be the matter? Think really hard, people.

"Lily, what do you think?"

She faked a thoughtful frown and then turned to me with an absolutely incredible, serious expression in her pretty brown eyes. 

"I have the distinct notion that it has to do with a certain honey-blonde hottie, right?"

"Of course! But he's not honey-blond, he's-" –_What_?

I was about to defend his bloody _hair_ _colour_! How weird was that? I gulped and tried to cover my slip: "He's a plain blond, ugly, mean bastard!"

While I nodded vigorously, Lily merely raised an eyebrow at my rushed insult, and I mentally groaned. Great, Hermione. Now did that sound like denying a secret crush or _what_?

"I don't suppose you have anything other than hate for him, right?"

Well, there _was_ a certain physical attraction, but- OHMIGOD! _Please_ say I didn't just think that!

Lily must have noticed my horrified expression and frowned. 

"What, was I that far off? I'm sorry, Mia, but at first glance you two seemed to have something going."

Yeah, like a year-old hatred keeping us from thinking of each other as anything remotely resembling a human being. I inwardly snorted at that.

"No, it's alright, Lily. I was just thinking of something else. Something horribly traumatic."

Her mischievous smile immediately returned, and I realised that that was _not_ the best thing to say. 

"So you _do_ have a thing for him, don't you?" 

I flinched and leaned over, whispering as quietly as I could: "I wouldn't say it like that. It's more like an undeniable physical attraction along with the resigned acceptance of the fact that he's a total asshole."

"And why can't you say that out loud?"

I glanced over to find the object of discussion watching me impassively and imagined the look on his face when he found out that I thought of him as _attractive_. Over my dead body. 

"Because he'd hear it and I'd never live this down."

Lily tapped her nose and frowned: "But hey, he seems to be interested in you, too! He's been staring at you the whole time since you two entered. Besides, you spend a lot of time with each other."

He was staring because he waited for me to screw up so he could kill me, and we spent our 'precious time alone' wondering how we could get those two pig heads together and then get away from each other as soon as possible. But of course, saying that would have had a pretty destructive effect on ours plans, so I decided to keep my mouth shut. 

Instead, I leaned over once again and told her in a low voice: "Believe me, Lily, nothing is as far from our minds as a romantical involvement of the two of us, and that's period. Now can we please go up to our dorm?"

She seemed skeptical, but eventually nodded. "Sure, Mia. Moony?" Lily replied, now turning to Remus, "We'll head up to bed, alright?"

We said a quick goodnight to everyone and then went to our dorm. 

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It was long after midnight when Lily and Clara, our dorm companion, had finally fallen into a deep sleep and I was able to sneak out of the room. I hastily threw on my robes and then headed for the Secret Room. I'd been supposed to meet Draco there hours ago, and I hoped he wasn't too angry. 

When I finally reached my destination and the clock struck three o'clock in the morning, I was feeling a _tiny_ bit panicky. Angry Draco was not something you ever wanted to experience, and angry but controlled and cold Draco- who I feared I would be facing- was the worst of all.

But thankfully, Mr. Dreadful was sound asleep on one of the couches, and I couldn't deny the cute touch of it. He looked like twelve. Not like twelve-year-old Draco, but rather like a random boy sleeping peacefully under his space-rocket covers. I smiled. 

"Stop grinning, Granger!" I jumped at the voice and then let out the breath I'd held when he opened his eyes.

"Please, no abrupt movements around me, I'm hysterical."

He looked at me and replied in his most sarcastic tone of voice: "No! _Really_?"

I rolled my eyes and sat down next to him. "So… what are the themes for tonight's meeting?"

"The point of most importance: How are we gonna get the damn Potter freak to transfer his affections from you to Evans?"

_WHAT?!_

"Could you repeat that, please?"

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you. Seems you're a Potter magnet. Good old James admitted a few days back that he was enamoured with you."

"What? But that ruins all our plans!"

"I know. Congratulations, Mudblood. _Real_ good."

The bastard was in one of his sarcastic moods. _Terrific_.

"Hey, it's not like I made him fall for me! And anyway, that's just a crush. It'll go away."

He rolled his eyes and then looked at me like I was the dumbest creature walking the earth. Bullshit, I'm telling you. I was just in denial.

"Have any of _your_ crushes ever just gone away, wallflower?"

I gulped. Good point, but I felt my privacy was in dear need of protection.

"What's it to you, Malfoy?"

He smirked and I damned myself for being so obvious. 

"Don't worry, little Mudblood, I don't want any names. Although I'm sure Potter and Weasley would both turn up."

I glared at him coldly. "Sadly, I have to disappoint you. Harry and Ron are like brothers and I have never been a fan of incest."

He shrugged, looking impassive. "I don't care. Point is, you needed a shove to realise they weren't the right one for you, didn't you?"

"Well… yeah." I admitted grudgingly. Who knew he had that much experience with crushes? But then, on the other hand he _was_ the crush of half Hogwarts, so he might know a bit. 

"Meaning we need a shove for James. Problem is: Where to take?"

I nodded, beginning to think. James needed to see that I was wrong for him and Lily was right. Now what would convince him that I was wrong for him? I couldn't tell him because, technically, I didn't even know, and on the other hand I didn't believe it would help. 

No matter how I taxed my brain about it, no solution was in sight. 

"So I see you don't have a clue. Well, let me give you a tip. What is the final sign that you will never get together with someone? That they already have found the love of their life."

"But I haven't-"

He sighed dramatically, cutting me off. "I _know_ you haven't met your match. But you can _act_ like you did, don't you?"

Yeah, sure I could. It would cost me quite an effort to accommodate to all the snuggling and cuddling and even snogging- urgh!- but I would be able to do it. But with whom? There was no one besides Draco and me that knew- _could_ know- about how much we needed James to love Lily, and- 

_Waaait_ a minute, he wasn't serious, was he?

He noticed my disgusted expression and gave a curt nod. "Exactly."

"What?! You and me acting like lovebirds? Touching? _Kissing_?! No. _Fucking_. Way!"

"Alright, then stay here and rot. You will forever be cut off from your family and friends. Hey, maybe you can watch Potter and Weasley get killed along with your younger self. Now that would be worth a watch, wouldn't it?"

I scowled at him. "Shut up."

"I can already imagine it. You watching with terrified eyes, maybe even crying out for them, and they won't know you! They won't recognise you and just stare on in confusion before a bright green light takes them down…"

"Shut UP!"

I couldn't take the picture in my head, of my best friends dying, and I tried desperately to make Draco pay for it.

I swung back and tried to punch him, but he caught my fist without effort, holding it in place. I threw my other hand as well, but again he dodged my blow smoothly. Well, okay. That was it. 

I searched for something, anything that would wipe this damn look of control and calculation off his face, and then it came to me. 

I inwardly sighed and braced myself for what was to come.

And then I kissed him. A small wave of shock went through me, and my brain vaguely registered that it felt like what must be an electrical pulse. 

Draco reeled back and stared at me, shocked. Well, success. I _had_ managed to make his expression disappear. Now he looked utterly stunned. 

"Wha- what are you _doing_?" 

He couldn't even bring himself to insult me, I noted with some satisfaction. I smirked and replied casually: "Training." And then I brought my mouth up to his again. 

I'm gonna be frank. It was disgusting in a way, kissing a guy you hate. Must especially _this_ guy. But if I reduced him to just a man, any man, then he was irrefutably hot. And he could kiss, _boy_, could he kiss…

The last thing I consciously noticed were my arms going around his neck, his hands sneaking around my waist. And then there was blissful blackness. 

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**_A/N: Well, hey, people! I'm back! Temporarily._**

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**_Yeah, I know I said it'd be a while until there'd be any D/Hr action, but I kinda changed my draft on this story and just now came up with the idea of the lovey-dovey acting, sooo… I sorta lied back then, but not really since I didn't know. Let me know if you find any logical mistakes or plot bloopers (I'm expecting some of those, seeing as this was written at four in the morning)._**

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**_I'm very sorry this took me so long to get out, and I'd like to thank all my reviewers, Athene Saile (Sorry, I tried to make it more clear this time), tom4eva, skye (Yeah, I know! ^^'), skyleia, DazzilinAngel555, Sunflower-chan, DaDeVaLiShDuCky ( I love your nickname!^^), Sam, Bookie, and particularly midnight dream, who finally got me off my lazy ass and in consequence helped getting this written. Thanks for your support!_**

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**_I can say that I have regained some interest in the story, so I think I will be continuing it. But don't expect regular updates. My terrible muse hits me at the most sporadic of times. Sorry!_**

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**_I hope you will stay with me!_**

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